The hope is that by fighting obesity the UK's taxpayer funded
health service can save £5 billion ($8.12 billion). The report
was created as public health responsibility shifts from the NHS
to local government later this year.

Reaction to the plan seems to be leaning on the negative side.
British Medical Association GP committee chairman Dr Lawrence
Buckman told the
BBC that the plans were "some of the silliest things I've
heard in a long time".

"When I was first told about this I thought it was a joke," Dr
Buckman said.

Alex Thomson, chief executive think-tank Localis believes that
the concept simply wouldn't work. "Even if you check into the
pool how will they know if you just sit and have a latte in the
café instead?" Thomson told
the Telegraph.

"Part of the problem is that a great deal of those who have
problems with their weight are not cheerfully waiting for
sufficient motivation to become thinner," Gill writes. "They are
unhappy with their size already, which can make the problem worse
- compulsive eating is a common reaction to stress."